Kajabi Passes $1.1 Billion in Customer Revenue as Edtech Heats Up

Online business platform Kajabi has announced that customer revenue has surpassed $1.1 billion for the first time. The California firm is navigating the turbulent economic climate with élan, empowering thousands of users to create specialized online courses and training materials that are in greater demand than ever.

To date, Kajabi customers – comprising individual entrepreneurs, small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) and subject matter experts – have delivered educational content to over 41 million users in 120 countries, establishing the portal as a major player in the burgeoning e-learning sector.

To commemorate the financial milestone, Kajabi is launching a community-driven digital marketing campaign entitled “Let’s Build Together,” featuring prolific course creators. Educators who wish to participate can do so using the hashtag #KajabiLife on social media.

The Rise and Rise of E-Learning

Kajabi’s announcement comes on the heels of Hotmart’s acquisition of educational platform Teachable for a reported $250 million. Teachable CEO Ankur Nagpal recently indicated that its subscribers had earned half a billion dollars from training courses “attended” by over 20,000 daily students. All the more impressive given the New York platform only launched in 2013.

Udemy is another well known e-learning destination, with 57,000 content creators responsible for some 150,000 courses. Headquartered in San Francisco, the private company was recently valued at $2 billion, up from $710 million in 2016. Such startling growth has enabled the firm to open offices in Denver, Brazil, India, Turkey and Ireland, with 600 employees currently on the books.

Technology-mediated learning, delivered by industry experts and influencers and accessible on demand using desktop, tablet or mobile, is riding the crest of a wave. Interactive by nature, e-learning systems like Kajabi facilitate easy tracking of metrics such as learner engagement and class participation, while obviating the need for physical classrooms and paper-based materials. The global market for online learning is forecasted to hit $315 billion by 2025, but may grow more rapidly due to widespread school, university and workplace closures, as well as general self-isolation measures.

In contrast to the fortunes of e-learning platforms, recent analysis of Unesco and OECD data on international enrolments and fees suggests universities could incur losses that run into the billions due to travel restrictions.

Embracing the Virtual Environment

With an increasing number of employers and institutions moving their operations into an online environment, the e-learning sector has a golden opportunity to showcase its technological advancements to a wider audience. However, Kajabi’s latest campaign is as much about empowering existing creative educators as drawing attention to its slick software solutions.

“So many people are thinking, ‘How can I use this time to continue learning new skills and growing?’ right now,” says Kajabi co-founder and CEO Kenny Rueter. “Our users are stepping up and creating so much value in the lives of their students. We wanted to highlight what they’re achieving and the brightness they’re bringing into the world right now.

“We hope [the campaign] inspires more people to take action, build together, and use this time to bring their idea to life.”

As well as highlighting the impactful work of Kajabi “Heroes” via videos and static content, the platform’s support team is running twice-daily live webinars, Monday through Friday, to showcase features that content creators can use to provide more value to learners, and to answer questions from the community.

Late last year, Kajabi recorded another milestone when it received its first institutional capital investment from the growth equity firm Spectrum Equity. It also launched a new mobile app for iOS and Android, and was named a “2020 Software Company to Watch” by The Startup Weekly.

With questions swirling over the future of remote work and distant-learning, edtech portals such as Kajabi seem poised to capitalize. Not only by facilitating knowledge-transfer in the digital realm, but by ensuring that stakeholders are fairly remunerated.